FBI arrests Imperial police officer accused of bribery

An Imperial police officer was arrested while in full uniform Wednesday following an FBI-led investigation of bribery allegations.

Imperial police Officer Gerardo Rocha, 32, was arrested around 10:25 a.m. by FBI agents with assistance of the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General investigators, said FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth.

Rocha was arrested and taken into custody at the Imperial Police Department while on duty as a result of an investigation involving the officer allegedly receiving bribes. At this time, he’s facing one state charge of bribery.

No details on the alleged crime have been made available at this time, but the “bribe would have to do with allegations of on-duty criminal conduct as it pertains to his position of a police officer with the Imperial Police Department,” Foxworth said.

If convicted, Rocha is facing four years in state prison. He has posted $25,000 bail and was released from Imperial County jail, according to jail records. It’s expected that he will be arraigned early next week.

Imperial County Assistant District Attorney Deborah Owen said the DA’s office was notified of the case about two weeks ago and that “issues of public corruption, of public integrity are issues that the District Attorney’s office takes very seriously,” she said.